1 Effective Presentations COSC2P50 John Levay

2 Presentations University of Minnesota study –standing vs. sitting –standing adds value Visual aids –University of Wisconsin –Harvard, Columbia –University of Pennsylvania Read, hear and see statistics

3 Presentation Principles Present only enough to persuade –avoid too much information –people deal with too much information Make people remember –use tools –attention spans –2 out of 10 people remember a portion –goals - memorable and keep people listening –boredom breeds discontent

4 Troublemakers in Presentations Hostile Know-it-all Loudmouth Interrupter Interpreter Gossiper Whisperer Silent

5 Troublemakers in Presentations continued Busy-Busy Latecomer Early leaver

6 Presentation Principles - continued Presenting NOT public speaking –presenting focuses on the audience –presenting provides value –public speaking is speaker oriented example - politicians Purpose is persuading or enlightenment –think about what people should do in response to your presentation

7 Presentation Principles - continued Audience perception of you matters –bad perception make you ineffective –rarely “what” matters more than “who” –marketing is ineffective –practice, practice, practice 4 Criteria to be satisfied –Attention getting –meaningful –memorable –activating

8 Presentation Rules Have something to say Say it clearly Say it like you mean it Technology can’t help you ten truths about multimedia presentations

9 8 Points to Develop Presentations 1. Setting objectives –what are you doing the presentation for? –focus on why not how 2. Know your audience –who are they –what are their needs –request lists of attendees –study background of audience –talk to some people ahead of time –talk to others who have spoken to same group

10 8 Points to Develop Presentations - cont 3. State main ideas –what do I want people to remember –limit content –maximum 1 idea every 15 minutes –main ideas must state conclusions accomplish objectives be interesting and memorable be few in number

11 8 Points to Develop Presentations - cont 4. Choose supporting information for main ideas –where do you get this inside organization outside organization research personal insights –start a file of “stuff” for presentations 5. Create an opening –objectives of an opener

12 8 Points to Develop Presentations - cont –Other things to include in opening attention getting statement main ideas benefits to audience –appropriate words and body language –Read opening and ask yourself why are we here why is this important what’s in it for the audience how will the audience be affected what will the audience get out of this

13 8 Points to Develop Presentations - cont 6. Develop transitions –natural flow –tie presentation together –help audience follow along –short –can be questions –can be pauses

14 8 Points to Develop Presentations - cont 7. Structure main body –contains key points –logical –force people to remember –logical sequences –spice it up

15 8 Points to Develop Presentations - cont 8. Prepare close - most important part –possibly prepare first –summary of main ideas –review purpose –appeal for desired action –many ways to close –choose words carefully 12 most persuasive English words - Yale Most powerful English word combinations

16 Seven Deadly Sins in Presentations 1.Organization charts 2.Would you pay to listen to this? 3.Right presentation -wrong target 4.Too much 5.Lights out 6.Slides too detailed 7.Just try to wing it

17 Presentation Tips - Visuals Fonts –one, thick, san-serif ( Verdana or Arial) Titles Consistency Big fonts –I use 40/32 bold –sign painters law –if it doesn’t fit then it’s too much!

18 Presentation Tips - Visuals - cont Colour –background, text, accents –red/green Colour sets –dark vs. light Colour is light on a screen Bright or dim room? Emotions of colours Transitions

19 Presentation Tips - Visuals - cont Designing visuals use KISS –Summary –Review Maximum 6 bullets to a slide Left to right, top to bottom Graphics White space Other things

20 Presentation Tips - Visuals - cont Support message with visuals Pie, Line, Bar charts –use only 3 lines Hand out complicated charts –never pack numbers into tables Resolution of projector –less is more

21 Presentation Tips - Presentations Notes Printed summary try it –video –time it –know the technology –try equipment –lights –mouse

22 Presentation Tips - Presentations - cont Backup copy of everything Arrival Remember your audience –pay attention to them How to end the presentation –black slide –questions slide – , company logo

23 Technology verses Overheads Update Notes for users Navigation Graphics Sound, motion, movies Overheads as backup

24 In the End Fun Nervous Use technology properly Confidence through review Low tech verses high tech Be kind to presenters - it may be you someday!

25 The End Questions?